Home Automation - Focus on Human Experience

Technology has entered our home, whether we like it or not. I expect consumers at large, myself included, to be concerned about such technological advances. Privacy has become a key word in the modern era, for activists, for watchdogs, for governments and for consumers. As a result, we the consumers are skeptical of technology and products which give the impression that they are monitoring us. However, in spite of this initial skepticism, one can see indicators that suggest innovation and technology will breakthrough and we will increasingly live in a more connected world where devices talk to one another, where data and information is captured, relayed and analysed and where routine, mundane tasks are taken over by smart machines. We are in the middle of the internet revolution, which itself is transforming rapidly from desktop to mobile, from wired to wireless and from dumb to AI. This revolution is impacting every aspect of human life and our home is one such aspect.

Think about it, where do we spend most of our time? Where do most of our resources get consumed? Where are our most valuable possessions? Where do our loved ones spend most of their time? If we can get to smart office spaces, with automated attendance, energy management, ambiance control, resource management, etc. then why not the same in the place where we spend most of our time and resources, where we store most of our valuable possessions and where our loved ones can mostly be found? It only makes sense to automate various aspects of our home to make it smart, secure, efficient and convenient, so that we get the best possible living experience. I use the word experience as the catchword in that sentence. Experience really is at the center of any consumer product category and in home automation I believe it is the center peg around which all other attributes of the offering have to be aligned.

A set of products which provide renewed living experience to consumers, while ensuring safety, reliability and privacy will help home automation to cross the chasm and move from early adopters to early majority to eventually mass adoption. Let me throw light on two aspects of emerging technologies seen retrospectively. Firstly, we live in a world divided by spending power. Typically all innovations have first happened in developed regions, which I call as lead markets. This happened with internet, information technology, telecom, mobility, etc. Following the pattern, this is happening with home automation as well. Eventually these technologies and innovations make it to developing regions, or lag markets. Secondly, while lag markets adopt new technologies, there have been instances where lag markets made some important skips. India, for example, almost completely skipped the pager era. What both these previous points mean is looking at the adoption in lead markets we can gauge how a product area is likely to perform in the lag market and also that certain skips to better alternatives within the product area are likely to happen when adoption starts in the lag markets. The lead markets have taken well to home automation and the technology and its ecosystem is evolving rapidly. This is an indication that a lag market such as India is likely to see good adoption of home automation technology in the next 3-4 years. It is also likely that the technology would evolve to better alternatives before mass adoption starts in a lag market such as India. For those who are interested, there are a few analyst reports available on the internet providing forecasts on home automation growth in India. I highly recommend a quick read.

I use the word experience with the following examples on my mind. You are away from your home, either in office or may be on a vacation, and a relative shows up at your door (relatives, sigh). If you can speak with them through smart door phone and can allow them inside using smart door locks, is that a good experience? Preset your curtains or shades to open with sunrise and certain devices such as your greaser to automatically turn on in the morning. Setup your home for a movie, or game day, or a party, as per your preference with the click of a button. Alarms and alerts on device status, motion, gas leaks, and information on temperature, pollution level, etc. from your home on your smart phone at your finger tips, no matter where you are. Have the ability to control, monitor and interact with all devices on one platform which seamlessly integrates all your devices and enables you to control it as a single coordinated system. These are examples of experiences which make this technology space fascinating. I have of course just touched the surface of what is possible. There are devices already available in the market to address what I have listed and more and the technology is evolving and improving as you read.

Home automation will change the way we interact with our homes and will lead us to a completely new living experience. What we currently have are many large companies providing part solutions and small start-ups with more complete solutions but limited reach in the market. It is a matter of time before large companies rollout complete home automation platforms which allow integration of all kinds of smart products and with further homogenization of smart products, consumers will have options to customize solutions as per their needs, while using more widely used standard platforms. I expect large companies to utilize their resources and capabilities to address safety, reliability and privacy requirements. That will be a key push for this product area to cross the chasm.

Home automation is taking off, and the opportunity it presents is very large. I am happy to be a working in this space.